TechNotes Tips - 12.06.01

Mild weather continues to cover most of the Midwest and eastern United States. This is in stark contrast to last year when basically cold weather set in around the middle of November. Turf- grasses are still growing and may require mowing. Allowing the turf to grow long will result in a greater potential for winter diseases like Microdochium patch (pink snow mold) to occur.

A new gypsy moth control agent may prove effective. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have demonstrated the combination of an antibiotic, zwittermicin A, with Bt is an effective method for controlling gypsy moths. The antibiotic by itself does not appear to be very effective but in combination with Bt it is extremely effective. The gypsy moth in its caterpillar stage was brought to the United States from Asia in 1869 in a failed attempt to start a silkworm industry. This insect has become a scourge feeding on more than 300 species of trees and shrubs in the Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada.